Meanwhile, a Nashville attorney, James Widrig, said he definitely plans to run for the seat.

Will Canterbury picked up a qualifying petition for the District 31 seat representing southern Davidson County on Feb. 23 and gave the Davidson County Election Commission this email address: canterburyforcouncil@gmail.com.

Canterbury had been Ramsey’s executive assistant since September 2007. But Connie Ridley, director of legislative administration for the Tennessee General Assembly, said Canterbury left Ramsey’s staff on March 8 to “move on and do other things.” She declined to provide any details about the circumstances of his departure.

Canterbury did not immediately return a phone call or respond to an email. Ramsey’s office referred questions to Ridley.

Widrig, an attorney and the president of the Lenox Village Homeowners Association, said Monday that he plans to run for the District 31 seat. He said in a news release that he’ll hold a campaign kickoff and fund raiser Friday.

Carolyn Petrone also has picked up a petition, but neither she nor any other candidate had qualified for the District 31 race as of Monday afternoon.

Two progressives, Brady Banks and Fabian Bedne, have gotten most of the attention so far in the suburban district, where Councilman Parker Toler is term-limited.

Banks ran unsuccessfully for an at-large council seat in 2007, then worked for Mayor Karl Dean as director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods. Bedne, an architect, lost to Toler four years ago and served on the Metro Board of Zoning Appeals.